“You have to rule out the circumstances and make sure guys stay healthy,’’ said Girardi, who played Jayson Nix at shortstop and batted him seventh.

Jeter has started 92 of the Yankees’ 95 games; 81 at short and 11 as the DH. He entered the game at short in the bottom of the eighth and struck out looking to end the 10th with two runners on.

Girardi used Curtis Granderson in Jeter’s leadoff spot for the third time this year and hit Mark Teixeira second for the second time.

* Alex Rodriguez’s two RBIs hiked his career total to 1,936. Stan Musial is fifth on the all-time list with 1,950. … The Yankees are 21-11 in the final games of series and have won seven of the last nine finales and nine of 12. … The Yankees were the last team in baseball not to have lost more than three straight.

* Joba Chamberlain threw a bullpen session yesterday in Tampa and will pitch in a fifth minor league rehab game tomorrow night for Single-A Tampa if there isn’t a physical problem.

If Chamberlain comes out of tomorrow’s exercise healthy, there is a good chance he will work Wednesday. Then after a couple of days off, he could make one more minor league start before coming off the disabled list.

“I am curious to how he responds to back-to-back,’’ Girardi said of Chamberlain who is coming back from Tommy John surgery and ankle surgery. “At some point he has to go back-to-back and we will see how he feels the next day.’’